16th Century Kirtle Update

Because more blog posts are better, right?

Tonight I tried to do some more work on my kirtle project. I took the calico pattern that Aimee helped me with on Thursday and transferred it onto canvas, because that's what I intend to use as interlining in my final kirtles. And then I got mum to help with pinning it onto me, just to check that it actually would work in the more rigid fabric.

It won't work. I can tell you that for certain. We bent like 5 pins in the process of trying to make this thing fit me. We tightened it as tight as pins can go and readjusted my breasts all over the damn place and nothing would straighten out those annoying problems - the exact same problems that I faced on Thursday. Weird lumping around my breasts, unusual gaping near my underarm... ARGH!

So I messaged Rosie who is an absolute GENIUS at patterning. Like seriously, think of the smartest person that you know and Rosie is better at patterning than they are at anything. She gave me some handy tips and this week (probably Wednesday) I'm going to try again to make this pattern (with mum's help). I found a few patterning tutorials online. There was one that was for a cotehardie but it starts at the most basic level and when I read it I thought it was pretty clear how it all worked. Rosie suggested the step-by-step instructions in the Tudor Tailor so I'll have a look at that too. I'm going to show both to mum and whatever makes most sense to her is what we'll go with. I definitely think I need to use a laying-on-the-floor method because this whole standing up thing is not really working.

Anyways, so I have a plan for how this is all going to happen but that doesn't change the fact that my second patterning failure has kinda got me feeling down. :(

So I thought I'd better re-inspire myself to work on this project! I spent ages this evening googling pictures of 16th-century middle class and working class clothing. I found some great pictures from the 17th century lol :/ but anyway, here are some cool pics that I found and my thoughts about them.

Firstly, "Children's Games" by Pieter Bruegel (1560)

Here it is: http://www.learn.columbia.edu/arthumanities/websites/bruegel/children/ along with closeups of some parts.

In particular the woman in the red dress playing knuckles (in the 2nd closeup) - her bodice has lots of seams which I think is kinda weird because I'm not sure why it would need that many seams. But I like that it's a sleeveless kirtle with pinned (I think pinned) on sleeves, a waist seam and a pleated skirt. The way the skirt is sitting makes me wonder if they are cartridge pleats, but I have previously done knife pleats on skirts. They are definitely easier but I'm not sure which is more period. Her bodice must be laced down the front because her back and sides are quite clear in the picture and I can't see any lacing.

Also, the woman at the back herding children (in the 3rd closeup). Her kirtle seems to be pretty much the same design, with a waist seam and no sleeves. Her apron hides her skirt so I can't tell if it's pleated or what sort of pleats. Her sleeves are probably pinned on, also, although I guess they could be laced, but the way they seem to be connected to the shoulders by only one point makes me think that they are pinned. I can't see any lacing down her front. Her sides are in shadow so there could be lacing there. It might be down her back although I have read that back lacing tends to be for upper class people - or whoever can afford to hire someone to help with the lacing - so I'm not sure if it would be back lacing.
EDIT: that link seems to be broken so here is the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Games_(Bruegel) and another website with the picture on it: http://www.childrensgamesproject.com/cgp_painting.html

Next, "Women Washing Clothes" (or some variation of that title) from Splendor Solis (1535)

Here is some info about Splendor Solis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splendor_Solis it's pretty awesome. It's German. I get the impression that lower/working/middle class clothes were very similar even in different countries so I'm not too fussed that it's not from England.

So obviously this has a watermark because I stole it off that website. Have another version.

Also with a watermark, apparently, but it's less annoying than the last one, although this image is a little smaller.

Anyway, stolen images aside, there are lots of good examples of kirtles in this picture. They are all sleeveless and you can see their shirts underneath. They have their shirt sleeves rolled up out of the way of their washing. They also have their skirts tucked up (I believe they have been pulled up over their belts because I think I saw something like this in a picture where you could see the belt hanging out underneath, but I don't really remember) but you can still see that their skirts are pleated. One lady (in the bright blue) has a shirt with a high collar, which is probably also pleated like the shirt pattern in the Tudor Tailor. That's the kind of shirt that I want! I can't really see any details of the seams or lacing on these kirtles because the picture is too small :(

This picture is by Hans Holbein the Younger. It is of an upper class woman in a gown and a gable hood. I think it might be one of Henry VIII's wives but I can't remember which one.

The reason I have this image is because you can clearly see the back of her dress. I really like the V shape at the back. This gown would not have been very supportive because it would have been made of fancy and delicate materials. This lady must be wearing a supportive undergarment and it could be very similar to the kirtles that I want to make. You can't see that undergarment so it must be cut in the same way, although maybe a little lower, than the gown. The pattern I am working on will have a V neck as well. :)

This is another sketch by Hans Holbein the Younger, of a family and they are not an upper class family.

I like this picture because you can clearly see the shape of the bodice. It has a soft curve across her breasts and is flat down her stomach but it is only a very gentle curve - the bodice is almost flat. However, it has quite a distinct curve when compared to the last sketch, of the upper class gown. I think that this shape is evidence that the garment is supportive - it is flatter under her chest because it is tighter and that is what is supporting her breasts. Because of the position of her arms I can't tell if this dress is side-lacing or back-lacing. I also can't tell if her sleeves are sewn in or attached some other way because her shawl obscures her shoulders. The skirt is pleated. I think her hat looks silly.

This is a picture of Three Gentlewomen of London and a Countrywoman by Lucas de Heere. It is from around 1570, which is a little later than I was hoping for pictures but it's the best I can do, clearly :P

I like that the gentle shape of the bodices is evident in each of these outfits. Even though the woman on the right is clearly of a lower social rank than the other ladies, her bodice is a similar shape. Her class is marked by her apron mostly and by the gowns that the other woman are wearing. I think this picture is interesting because of her skirt, too. It seems that there is not much fabric in her skirt - there doesn't seem to be much evidence of pleating so I think maybe this is a skirt made from shaped pieces. Maybe she could not afford that much fabric. Her shawl (which seems to be pinned in the middle, which is cool) hides her shoulders so I can't tell how her sleeves are attached. :( the dress is clearly front-laced. It is quite open. I don't know if it was meant to be more closed or if it is more like the Flemish style where they had very wide-open lacing. I really like that every one of these women (regardless of status) is wearing a shirt that has pleated collar and cuffs. So cute! :3

And that's what I found for tonight :)

Looking at these pictures has given me some things to think about. Firstly, I already wanted my bodice pattern to be a particular shape so I'm happy that once I get it working it should be the right kind of shape (mostly flat). Next, I am confident that pleating my skirt is the right thing to do. I want my kirtles to be working clothes but not necessarily super low class. Pleats take up more fabric so you'd need to be richer to do pleating, which makes me think it's appropriate for the look I'm aiming for. I don't know what sort of pleats to use. I'll probably go with knife and/or box pleats because they're very simple. I am definitely glad to be doing a kirtle with a waist-seam. I've been reading about 15th-century kirtles and they could either have or not have a waist-seam, but 16th-century kirtles always have one, as far as I can tell. I originally wanted lace-on sleeves - I was going to have lacing holes on the kirtle shoulders and ties attached to the sleeves. Now I'm thinking that pin-on sleeves would be a better choice. Hmmm. I'm definitely still going to do a shirt that has pleats at the collar and cuff. It's going to look awesome! :D I think that these pictures support my plan of a square neckline and a V-shape back-neckline.

One of the concerns that I have is that some of these pictures show a number of seams in the kirtle bodice that I am not intending to include in my bodice. I don't know how important they are. For the sake of simplicity, I will probably just stick to the most basic bodice design, even though it will use less seams than are depicted in the pictures.

Searching for these pictures was actually hard work and kind of frustrating, but I'm glad that I'm finding the sorts of things I was hoping for. At the very least, it distracted me from the bitter disappointment that followed my fitting failure.

I'll get back to this project later in the week, and maybe even update you about it!

Wish me luck :)

♥Nancy♬